18-Year-Old Mother of Two Leaves Children Locked in Car

August 20, 2012
By
Martinian & Associates

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Two children were sent to St. Francis Medical Center in Lynnwood, California
after being rescued from their locked vehicle. A concerned citizen was
officially thanked by the LAPD after reporting seeing the children locked
in a car in 92 degree weather. The temperature inside a car is up to 15
degrees hotter than the outside temperature, making it extremely dangerous
to leave people or pets inside. When police arrived, they were able to
unlock the back door through a slightly open window. The brother and sister,
aged one and two, were kept in the air-conditioned police car until paramedics
arrived at the scene.

The children's mother, 18-year-old A.A., was arrested for child endangerment
and could be charged with a felony. Each year, children die in situations
just like this one. In one case, a child died when the outside temperature
was only 81 degrees. Since 1998, over 550 children have been killed because
they were in hot vehicles. In approximately half of these cases, the child's
caregiver forgot that they were in the car. In 30% of the cases, the child
was playing the car without supervision. In the other cases, an adult
purposefully let the child in the vehicle.

Hyperthermia is defined as a high body temperature that occurs when the
person is unable to cool down as fast as they are heating up. This is
basically the opposite of hypothermia, where the victim dies from a core
temperature which is too low. Hyperthermia is defined as a medical emergency
and the victim could be left with permanent disabilities or even die as
a result. Although this condition can result from other causes, such as
a side effect to a drug, it usually is the result of heat stroke. Vehicular
hyperthermia occurs when a person's temperature rises while being
inside a vehicle. Children are particularly at risk because they are not
able to get out of the car on their own and their body temperature rises
at approximately three times the rate of adults.

As A.A. left her two children in the car when the outside temperature was
92 degrees, they were highly at risk of vehicular hyperthermia. According
to California Penal Code §270.3 (2011), child endangerment is defined
as putting a child in a situation which is likely to bring about injury
or suffering. If she is convicted of this offense, she could be put in
state prison for two, four, or six years. If she is granted probation,
there will be a minimum period of 48 months in which she will have to
attend child abuser's treatment counseling and may have a stay-away
order from her children. For more information on child endangerment and
other forms of child abuse, please contact our team at Martinian &
Associates today!

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